(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention is concerned with Physical Education. It is particularly applicable to athletes or professionals who require unusual skill or physical ability to successfully perform their job. It relates directly to the study of body motion to achieve better efficiency using photography and like methods.
(2) Description of Prior Art
The use of motion picture photography has greatly aided trainers and physical therapists in improving the physical skills of their subjects. It has become well established that awkward movements of the limbs and other parts of the body not only are generally less efficient, but eventually lead to chronic disorders in the joints, tendons and muscles. While ordinary photography records the required information used in this analysis, it also provides so much extraneous data that interpretation is made difficult.
One technique for simplifying the photographs taken is to prepare the subject by attaching reflectors or lights to significant points of his body such as his shoulders, elbows, knees, feet and hands. When photographed against a dark background using highly controlled lightning, so no overall lighting, the movements of these points are naturally greatly enhanced. The use of special clothing on the subject can also improve these pictures. The photos can be taken with TV cameras and then analyzed with computers which read video type signals. The use of any of the above, however, can so encumber the subject as to make the subsequent analysis useless. They also may be useless in many real environments such as an actual athletic contest or simultaneous testing of a large number of subjects.